Bears Reuniting With Former EDGE, WR are Perfect Gambles as Offseason Slows Down

The Chicago Bears should consider reunions with two of their former players to help shore up a pair of position groups.

Former Chicago Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

If there's two position groups the Chicago Bears should consider adding to between now and the start of training camp, it's edge rusher and wide receiver.

At the former, the Bears are short on certainties across from the team's top edge rusher, Montez Sweat, with question marks like Austin Booker, Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner vying for snaps at the position.

Turner and Odeyingbo combined for just one sack in 13 games in 2025 and both are coming back from serious injuries. Turner hasn't practiced this offseason, either, and head coach Ben Johnson didn't have an answer for when he'll be back.

“We'll see with Shemar, this summer's going to be a big part for him," Johnson said. "We'll have a good six weeks off of see where he's at when we come back to camp."

Booker was promising in his second season, but his sample size is not big enough to proclaim him a locked-in starter for 2026.

At wide receiver, there's plenty of promise, but again Chicago has some valid concerns because of the lack of experience in the group overall.

Kalif Raymond is the only player in the room who is slated for a significant role who has more than two years of NFL experience. Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, Jahdae Walker and rookie Zavion Thomas are all unproven.

Bears should reunite with Leonard Floyd, Keenan Allen

Former Atlanta Falcons defensive end Leonard Floyd. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Two former Bears remain available on the free-agent market in wide receiver Keenan Allen and edge rusher Leonard Floyd and both would make sense for Chicago.

Both players are long in the tooth, but it's not like the Bears need either one to anchor their respective position groups. And, both players remained at least somewhat productive in 2025.

Allen has posted over 700 yards in each of the past two seasons, one of which was spent with Chicago in 2024. Allen would offer a huge boost to depth and an insurance policy in case something goes wrong with Burden or Odunze.

Floyd is a name Bears fans haven't heard in a long time and a lot has changed since he last played for Chicago in 2019.

The former first-round pick has a Super Bowl ring and posted 8.5 or more sacks in each of the five seasons after his stint with the Bears, including a pair of 10.5 sack campaigns.

The 33-year-old saw a dip in production in 2025 with 3.5 sacks, but he also missed two games. Even still, those 3.5 sacks would have ranked fourth on the Bears last season.

Like Allen, Floyd pads a shaky position group and offers potential insurance in the event the questionable trio of Booker, Turner and Odeyingbo doesn't pan out.

Are these the big, sexy moves Bears fans want to see?

No, but they are realistic ones for a Bears team with just $8.2 million in cap space, and they would make Chicago better.